Gloucestershire’s own celebrity tycoon Julian Dunkerton says he hopes his late father would be proud to see him carry on the family legacy with the opening of a new organic cider factory.

The Superdry founder has moved Dunkerton’s Cider to brand new premises at his Gloucestershire estate where this weekend he opened a shop in what he said was an "emotional moment".

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Stepmum Susie said dad Ivor would have been “thrilled” to see the new large new venture where the Dunkerton name is emblazoned on everything from cider bottles to teatowels.

But when asked if she was proud of the recently married entrepreneur, this thoughtful woman paused for reflection.

Julian Dunkerton and stepmother Susie (Image: COPYRIGHT SIMON PIZZEY)

“Proud is not a word we would use,” she said explaining that it seems to suggest some kind of reflected glory on her and that would detract from Julian’s achievements.

“We used to have big debates about how proud meant some kind of self possessiveness.

“We are supportive, admiring, respectful and all those things, but I would not really use the word proud.

"That’s like saying it’s something to do with me and I don’t want to possess it.”

Family history

Ivor was an award-winning BBC producer who worked on documentaries such as the Man Alive, Jailhouse Shock, Love Behind Bars, From the Cradle to the Grave and in 1971 he won a Bafta for Vince, Paul, Lawrence and Richard.

While researching the welfare state he visited a Shelter housing aid centre where Susie was working and they fell in love and dreamed of retiring to Herefordshire after visiting there on their honeymoon.

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Eventually the couple moved to a smallholding in Pembridge in with Julian, his brother Martin and and Ivor’s 90-year-old mother to escape the rat race.

After deciding to diversify into truly 100 per cent organic cider, Ivor tracked down a traditional press in a field which he bought for £100 and started Dunkerton's.

They built it up into a premium organic brand certified by The Soil Association, a heritage Julian wants to build on by being the first cider company in the UK to name ingredients on the bottle.

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“We moved to Herefordshire when I was 14, from London, so it was quite a shock to the system,” said Julian who has previously said his dad was his biggest influence in life.

“They bought a smallholding in the middle of nowhere and when they got there it dawned on them they needed to specialise in something to survive,

“The amount of land they had they could not farm it traditionally so they needed a project and a product and because it was Herefordshire and there was a lot of cider fruit it seemed the natural thing for them to do.”

Dad Ivor was involved in the move before his death and passed in his knowledge of apples to Jeremy Benson from Benson's Fruit Juices who is managing director.

He never got to see his son marry Jade Holland Cooper but Susie attended the wedding and said: “It was beautiful, a life affirming occasion.”

Did she know when she first met seven-year-old Julian he would eventually be one of the UK's most successful businessman with a fortune estimated at around £400 million and the means to buy them out?

“He had a lots of ideas and determination but you never know because you also need a lot of luck along the way,” she said of Julian who wanted to be a doctor until he spent the two most miserable years of his life studying science A levels.

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What Julian says about the cider venture

Julian was the star at the launch of his latest venture but journalists hoping to talk about his recent £1 million investment into a Brexit poll were told the day was all about family not politics.

“It’s a family business and I am obviously very proud to be continuing the work started by my dad and my stepmother which carries my family name,” said Julian.

“To be able to elevate it to this and bring it here is wonderful.”

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The wooden-clad shop has a gallery outlining the history of the family’s venture and visitors can tour the factory and see the cider being bottled.

Asked what Ivor would think, Julian said: “I like to think he would be proud.

“I was very close to my dad and what he would think is incredibly important to me.

“I built this out of the best materials I possibly could, I made it look as beautiful as I could and we are expanding the company dramatically.”

Dom Joly at the VIP opening (Image: COPYRIGHT SIMON PIZZEY)

The Future

The Dunkerton name is embroidered in blue on shirts of the staff as well as printed on everything from aprons to cider flagons, so is it set to become the Superdry of the cider world?

“We will continue to grow and grow and grow,” said Julian. “I love growth so this gives me the opportunity to grow another business.

Food at party to mark the opening (Image: COPYRIGHT SIMON PIZZEY)

“I will never retire. Never. I love work. I absolutely love it. It’s creative. I can grow businesses, I can employ people, I can create things from nothing.

“At 19 I was incredibly lucky to find something I was good at How lucky was I to discover that in myself?

“Not many people find what they are good at at 19 and I feel blessed that I did. I love it now as much as I did then.”

Chese for sale in the shop (Image: COPYRIGHT SIMON PIZZEY)

His love of Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire had better look out because even though he has sold Superdry, he doesn’t want to slow down and he will be concentrating on cider and his Lucky Onion group.

“I want to accelerate, you watch me,” he said. “Cheltenham is massive part of everything I do. I love living here. I like watching.

“A lot of what I do is property based. Just look how ugly the buildings are over there that I haven’t touched and then look at this. This was as ugly as those.

“Property is very much part of what I do. Look at 131 and the properties either side and imagine by the time I have finished the other two how beautiful that whole part of the Promenade is going to look. It gives me immense pride.”